The care of hair has been of utmost importance to mankind from the beginning of recorded history. The reign of Queen Elizabeth (1558-1603) became noted for its attention to the finer aspects of hair styling; it was Her Majesty who set the standard. During this Elizabethan period, hair was arranged in elaborate high coiffures, and curled and frizzed by whatever means were available. Needless to say, as measured by present day available hair care products and methods, the Elizabethan hair care procedures were primitive, at best. The discovery of new chemicals and properties thereof led to the beginning of hair care products designed to beautify and maintain the hair in a healthy, youthful state. These desirable human hair properties were achieved by use of a variety of hair care products, including hair dyes and products used to impart a wave to the hair. Wavy hair is considered a desirable human hair feature, whereas straight hair is generally held in less favor. Because of these human demands to beautify the hair, there has evolved a multitude of hair care products with a variety of claims and promises. With hair care products designed to dye or wave the hair, it has been found that the structure of the hair shaft itself must be reckoned with in order to have a product which would give the desired results. A key detail of the hair shaft, which is predominantly keratinaceous in nature, is that the keratin fibers are bonded together by disulfide crosslinkages. It is this detail of the hair structure which the subject invention is concerned with. The prior art discloses the severance of the disulfide crosslink with, enter alia, various chemical agents. Perhaps the most widely used chemical, which is referred to as a reducing agent since the disulfide crosslink is converted to sulfhydryl groups, is thioglycolic acid. Use of other mercaptans, or thiols, have been tried but thioglycolic acid or salts thereof appear to be the agent of choice in commercial hair waving products. Recognized limitations of these current thioglycolate-based waving formulations include their sensitivity to air oxidation, their inherent unpleasant odor, and their marginal efficacy at neutral pH. The general requirement for highly alkaline conditions (.gtoreq.pH 8.5) combined with high thiol concentration is jointly responsible for hair damage described as "overprocessing."